2020
by Tetsuwan Penguin
Summary: Japan will be the host of the 2020 summer Olympic games. How do you think they will handle the security threats from North Korea's terrorists? An eye witness report from future!


_The last time the summer games were held in Tokyo was in 1964. They will be hosted there again in 2020. The world is a much more dangerous place then it was back then. The games are no longer peaceful havens, as they have been invaded by terrorists and violent protesters several times. Security is now an important part of such events. No doubt with the dictatorship of North Korea just minutes away by rockets, and radical groups from the mid-east eying the event as an opportunity to strike a blow at the west, Japan is taking no chances. Maybe, they have an ace up their sleeve, one that they'd like to rub in the faces of such adversity ..._

* * *

**2020**

**I met **Yuji Tanaka during a freak band opening on twenty meters late one afternoon. It was one of those rare moments when some sort of selective ionospheric ducting takes place between two isolated points on the planet's surface. The band was totally dead, except for one station calling CQ. When I returned his call, I was the only station that Yuji could hear on his end. The band stayed in that weird state for over an hour, and although signal levels were low, so were the noise levels and there also wasn't any interference from any other stations, even the 'Russian Woodpecker', as hams call that country's over the horizon radar, was quiet. Yuji's English was quite good, and my Japanese just about non-existent, so our conversation was in my native tongue. We had a long QSO, and soon discovered that we had many interests in common.

Yuji was only a few years younger than I, and he and his wife had also raised twins, though in his case they were fraternal brother and sister, while my wife and I had twin daughters. Obviously we were both radio hams, and we discovered that we both also worked in the computer software field. Yuji and I also shared interests in Astronomy, Photography, and the manga and anime of Tezuka Osmau. We exchanged email addresses so we could keep in touch when band conditions on HF wouldn't allow us to link up. During the following year we conversed often, mostly through cyberspace.

**My wife** and I had been seeing more and more news stories about the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. Neither one of us had ever been to one of the Olympics, but we had often watched the event on television. So it came as a bit of a pleasant surprise when I received the email from Yuji. He told me that his brother in law had some connections with the Olympic committee, and he'd been given a large block of tickets for his family's use. His children were going to be out of the country studying abroad and he wondered if my wife and I would like to be his guest. He even insisted that we should be his house guest, now that he and his wife were empty nesters just like my wife and I were. I couldn't thank him enough, for it meant that the airfare would be our only major expense of the trip.

* * *

**Fast forward** in time and my wife Robin and I found ourselves on an airliner heading toward Tokyo. We had changed planes at LAX after a flight from FTL. It was a long flight and by the time we got off the plane the 'Jet Lag' was beginning to show. Yuji was waiting for us by the baggage claim area, he told me that his wife Sachiko was driving around the airport until we arrived as they couldn't find a parking spot. I laughed, that sounded familiar!

Security at NRT for incoming flights was high with passengers having to be screened before getting to the baggage claim area. I guessed that Japan wasn't taking any chances with the Olympics, not wanting history to repeat itself they were not treating any terror threats lightly. True enough, North Korea was doing its saber rattling again, perhaps thinking of using the Olympics as a sounding board for their aggression.

We finally got our luggage and were relieved to find that nothing had been lost. Just as we left the terminal a late model Toyota pulled up with Sachiko Tanaka behind the wheel. She double parked and got out of the driver's seat to help us load the luggage into the trunk. Robin and I got in the back seat with a few bags piled between us and at our feet. Yuji and Sachiko traded places in the front seat and we manged to get away before the airport police started to write a ticket for standing too long.

**Tokyo's **traffic is busy most of the time, but the city's residents are used to it. Our hosts lived on the outskirts of the city, not far from good rail transportation into the city. At least we wouldn't have to fight the traffic getting to the events. The Tanaka's had a small, but well laid out home, and they made us feel comfortable. Sachiko's English wasn't as good as her husband's, and she spoke to us slowly, often switching unconsciously between English and Japanese when she couldn't remember the right words. I quickly realized I was picking up bits of Japanese out of context by her means of communication.

**Yuji's brother** in law came by for dinner. His wife was out with friends that evening so he was by himself. Akio Sato was a city official in the Tokyo local government, and he had spent some time working with the Olympic committee. He also had some friends in a few of the high technology companies dealing with the military. Yuji and Akio soon got into a bit of a heavy conversation, most of which was spoken in fast paced Japanese that Robin and I didn't understand a word of. Sachiko caught her husbands ear and said something that sounded like she was accusing him of being a poor host. Yuji turned and looked at me and Robin.  
"I'm sorry. It seems my brother in law and I have been ignoring you." he apologized.

Akio turned to us and spoke in English.  
"We've been talking about security at the Olympics and the recent threats by the North Koreans," He said. "Just recently, there was an incident which most of the details of have been kept secret. My contacts tell me that a Japanese airliner was almost shot down by a few North Korean MiGs. The airliner got back to Japan safely, but one of the Korean fighters was shot down by an unknown force. Korea blamed both the US and Japan. The American's denied any involvement, but our prime minister supposedly got word to the Koreans that our county could and would take care of ourselves, and that if this sort of thing happened again the Koreans would feel the consequences."

"What was the secret you were about to tell me?" Yuji asked his brother in law.

Akio smiled. "Well I'm not sure where this originated." He started. "But supposedly there is going to be a very big surprise at the opening ceremony of the Olympics designed to show off some secret technology our government has been working on. I have no idea what that means."

**The **opening ceremony of the Olympics was still a few days away, so Yuji and Sachiko took it upon themselves to show us around. They treated us to the theater, and some of the usual tourist traps. We even manged to get in a day trip to Takarazuka to visit the Tezuka Osamu Museum. I was relieved to find that Robin wasn't only not bored there, but actually found the variety of Tezuka's artwork fascinating.

**Just** two days before the opening ceremony the North Koreans decided to 'test' another missile, though they claimed the rocket launch was to launch a satellite. NASA later released tracking data on it that clearly showed that the Korean launch was a possible threat to Japan had it carried a warhead.

* * *

**The **stadium where the opening ceremony was to take place at had been built especially for the event. It was a domed arena, fully air conditioned with padded seats. The roof rose well above the floor of the field and was illuminated by colored spot lights and lasers. It appeared that Japan intended to outdo the performance of the Chinese nearly twenty years ago. The Olympic cauldron which would house the Olympic flame rose high above the floor, but would be visible to the crowd from the grandstand seating. We admired the preview of the venue from the television a day before the event. Yuji brought up a map of the stadium on his computer and showed us our tickets.  
"We have excellent seats!" he said with excitement. "Look how close to the field we are!" It was clear that his brother in law had some good friends on the Olympic committee.

**Various runners** had been taking turns carrying the Olympic torch across Japan toward Tokyo. They didn't take a direct route, but were rather touring the entire countryside weeks before the event. It was for show, of course, and it made good press. The evening newscast the day before the start of the Olympics showed teams of police with dogs sniffing around the stadiums looking for threats.  
"Someone probably phoned in a bomb scare" Yuji guessed.

* * *

**On** the day of the opening events, we decided to leave early just in case there were problems with the public transportation. Yuji told us that the railroads and subways would be more crowded than usual with the extra traffic of the Olympic crowds. A neighbor drove us to the commuter rail station where we caught a train into the city to transfer to the subway. We had to switch trains at Takadanobaba. I'd heard about that station, one of the busiest in the Tokyo subway system. It's also famous to Tezuka Anime fans for another reason, the theme music that plays each time a train arrives.

We finally arrived at the Olympic complex. Our carry bags were inspected on the way into the area, and subject to a portable X-Ray machine. The guard asked me to remove the lens from my Lumix G3 SLR camera to prove that it WAS a camera. They were taking the security thing quite seriously.

The area was way laid out, with signs in every one of the worlds major languages. We looked for a place to catch a late lunch before the late afternoon start of the opening ceremony events. Yuji, Sachiko and I were happy to grab something from a Sushi vendor, but Robin turned her nose up at the thought of raw fish. I kidded her about the fact that she'd eat Nova or Lox, but she settled for some Ocha-zuke with tuna and assorted vegetable toppings.

We wandered about the complex taking in the sights. The various buildings constructed for the event were works of art in themselves. It reminded me of the first World's Fair I had been to as an 11 year old kid in NYC. Finally it was time to head over to the main stadium where the opening ceremony was to be held. We followed the crowd and waited in a very long line, and had to show our tickets several times. Just before we could enter the stadium we once again had to have our bags inspected and walk through magnetometer metal detectors. There were also the police dogs sniffing all about. One came up to Robin and gave her a good sniff before he lost interest. My wife loves dogs, but has a bit of a phobia for German Shepherds. This one was a Labrador, which didn't bother her in the least.

We finally got into the stadium and then had a bit of a time finding our seats. We made the mistake of entering via the wrong section, and had to walk all the way around to the other side. Even so, by the time we did sit down only half the stadium had filled up. Vendors were marching about selling souvenirs and junk food (though the Japanese junk food is probably much more healthy than what you'd get at Yankee Stadium). We managed to find some snacks that each of us would eat and I bought a few programs for keep sakes.

There was still some time before the events would start and I grabbed my camera and took some pictures of the inside of the stadium. Hanging from the center of the ceiling, above the stage in the center of the field area was an enclosed area that I guessed housed television cameras that would be used for the coverage of the events, and probably security as well. Though my longest telephoto lens I could see how the center structure was suspended from the dome roof by several girders. I was amazed at the way that such a large dome was supported by flying arches from the far walls. There were also additional supports on the outside of the dome, I had already snapped some pictures of the building's architecture from outside as we had approached.

I now focused my camera on the Cauldron that would house the Olympic flame. It was a tall structure rising about two thirds of the way toward the roof. Visible from almost every corner of the stadium, it was situated in a area between two sections of the stands near the entrance to the stadium where the athletes would pass by it as they entered or left the stadium.

While I had been using my camera, the rest of the crowd had shuffled into the arena. The lights slowly dimmed and the Olympic fanfare began to play. The first opening acts began with various musical performers getting on the stage accompanied by a laser light show against the ceiling, along with fireworks around the stage. The national anthem of each nation were played to introduce the participants (not the entire team, but just a color guard from each nation).

Finally the moment that really marked the official opening of the event was about to happen. Once again the Olympic fanfare played and the last of the torch bearers entered the stadium. He walked toward the center of the stage and held the torch high, and waited. I had expected him to approach the Cauldron to light the flame, but apparently there would be yet one more runner that the torch would be passed to.

**The** lights dimmed and the PA system cranked up, you could hear the static of an open mike and a slight bit of hum just before the sound effects were keyed up. To the sound of squeaky footsteps, it walked into the stadium and slowly up to the stage. Standing only a few inches above four feet tall, I'd guess and looking hauntingly familiar. The announcer's voice came on and spoke in several different languages.  
"To help us celebrate the opening of the 2020 summer Olympic games, lighting the Olympic flame, Japan's own Tetsuwan Atomu!"

In the background, the familiar (to us old time anime fans) theme music by Tatsuo Takai played.

We were sitting close enough to get a good view of the small figure that took the touch and walked off the stage toward the Cauldron, only to leap into the air and fly up to the top of the tall structure to light the flame. He hovered there by what appeared to be jets in the red boots that he wore. Was this a Hollywood type special effects, or were we watching witnessing a demonstration modern robotics? For the moment, I guess mostly everyone assumed the former.

From the other side of the stadium, a large sheet was lowered with a bull's eye target on it. Atom was still hovering in the air facing the Cauldron while the target was behind him hundreds of meters away. He suddenly shot at the target with several laser blasts from guns projecting out of his hips. With each hit on the target a bell rang out. The crowd cheered.

Atom next flew about the stadium, over the crowd waving as he passed overhead. I tried to follow with my camera and got a few good shots. There were no wires suspended from the ceiling. Blowing up my HD images left little doubt in my mind this was real. So was this was the surprise that Akio had alluded to?

With Atom still performing aerobatics over the stadium field, the Olympic fanfare played as the second part of the show started. It was a parade of characters dressed in costumes from many of the nations. Marching bands took their turns along with dancers, acrobats and magicians. A literal circus side show parade of international talents. My camera was busy scanning the field area, the long lens giving me closeup views of the individual performers. While I scanned about two things caught my eye.

Sitting high up on the top of one of the scoreboards at the far left side of the arena, his feet dangling down like a child's would, was Atom. I zoomed in to get a better look at him, and again realized from the look on his face that this was no Hollywood prop. That was a real android, or a very brave performer in cosplay. With no wires attached to him, the latter idea seemed impossible.

High up in the rafters of the ceiling I saw something with a blinking red light. I couldn't zoom my lens in tight enough to tell what it was, but there were several of these objects strapped to the girders holding up the central control room in the structure suspended from the center of the roof. I later realized, I'd spotted something that security had missed.

**Suddenly**, there were two loud explosions coming from opposite sides of the stadium. Smoke and fire erupted. The crowd at first thought this was an act, until another even louder blast came from the roof, just above that central control structure. I looked up an saw four of the six girders holding that central structure blasted apart. There was a loud moaning sound and the structure began to fall! This was not part of any show, it was an act of terror and sabotage! Now the panic started to set in as throngs of people tried to find the exits. I huddled next to my wife and new friends not knowing what to do. I did witness what happened next.

Atom leap off his perch atop the scoreboard and flew up to catch the falling structure. The power required to do this must have been incredible! He easily set the enclosure on the field and then flew back up to take care of the roof. The girders holding up the dome had been compromised by the explosion and the stadium's roof had started to collapse. Atom re-welded the key members back together with a powerful laser in his arm. He then flew over to where the main entrance to the stadium had been sealed by the first of the explosions and blasted a hole though the wreckage.

The stadium was eventually safely evacuated and none of the crowd was injured. Despite the apparent carnage, inspection of the stadium the next day showed that the repairs somehow made overnight had left it structurally sound. (There was little doubt in my mind who helped to repair the stadium!) The start of the next day's events were delayed for two days as security went over the entire Olympic grounds with a fine tooth comb.

Eventually, there were enough pictures in the papers and on the web to let the world know of the secret. For years Japan had been working on advanced robotics. They had announced a tongue in cheekly named "Project Atom" to build an advanced AI robot. At the military level the project had gone much further.

It also was later reveled that North Korea had planted several squads of terror sleeper cells in Japan at the time that Tokyo had won the 2020 summer games. They'd planed to destroy the main stadium at the start of the Olympics and kill as many people as possible. Japan's military, having developed the advanced robotics for a cybernetic army wanted to send a message to the Koreans that they had this ability up their sleeves. The idea had been to make use of the image of Tetsuwan Atom as a showcase for this. It worked out better than anyone could ever dream.

**The** Tokyo Olympics was supposed to have this cute Manga animal character as its mascot. The blue and white 'thing' was replaced overnight by Tezuka's most famous creation. In the flesh.

Atom wasn't the only advanced robot patrolling the Olympic grounds during the next two weeks (there were many others). He was the most visible of them, and quite the attraction. The message had been sent quite plainly though. The rest of the Olympics went off without a hitch, after that two day delay. We enjoyed ourselves, but the time came to bid our hosts goodbye and head home.

A few weeks later there was an overnight coup in North Korea. The communist government had collapsed from within, with rumors of a few well placed assignations. Coincidence? I wonder.


End file.
